Bridges have always played an important role on the social and economic
history of human development, and Buckinghamshire has a great wealth of
them. Trade systems and road networks must solve the challenges of
geography's waterways, and bridges, causeways, fords, and flood systems
were necessarily a key aspect of the experience of historical travel.
Bridges and river crossings anchored the Buckinghamshire road network in
the landscape, and once established it proved remarkably durable.
Settlements, villages, and eventually cities have traditionally sprung
up at bridgeheads or where a river could be crossed at any time of the
year. Some examples in Buckinghamshire are Newport Pagnell, Buckingham,
and Cookham. The most ancient, vital, and interesting architectural
structures linked to use of these crossings are bridges, and people hold
a deep fascination for them. There are literally thousands of bridges in
Buckinghamshire, varying vastly in size, style, and materials. Many are
stone, a few are wooden, and there
are numerous brick and more modern steel and concrete constructions.
Bridges in this book are more than 100 years old, mostly lie on public
roads or rights-of way, are publicly accessible, and have a significant
proportion of the original bridge intact. Through photographs, stories,
and historical facts, this book looks at the wonderful historic bridges
that make up the chronology of Buckinghamshire.
